Campus INPT-ENSAT

EcoLab, the laboratory of functional ecology and environment, is at the interface of research on life, space, society and the humanities, with a mind to sustainable development. The laboratory investigates how communities and ecosystems function and interact. Its research field therefore includes the dynamics of various settings, the role of biodiversity in the functions of ecosystems, the influence of disturbance regimes on biodiversity, the dynamics and effects of pollutants, the structure and functioning models of ecosystems, and the bioremediation and restoration of natural settings.

EcoLab mainly studies how organisms/communities/ecosystems, and their interrelations, respond to external constraints. It develops finalized research projects designed to meet social expectations, such as diagnosing and assessing natural settings, defining new standards and new indicators of ecosystem health, managing biodiversity, assessing ecosystem services, and improving ecological engineering.

Research at EcoLab relies on strong industrial partnerships concerning the impact of human activities on organisms and ecosystems, and ecological engineering. EcoLab operates a joint laboratory with ARKEMA to study the ecotoxicological effects of CNT (multiwalled carbon nanotubes) on aquatic organisms.